TY - JOUR
T1 - Trajectory of functional status among older Taiwanese
T2 - Gender and age variations
AU - Liang, Jersey
AU - Wang, Chia Ning
AU - Xu, Xiao
AU - Hsu, Hui Chuan
AU - Lin, Hui Shen
AU - Lin, Yu Hsuan
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by grants R01-AG015124 and R01-AG028116 (Jersey Liang, PI) from the U.S. National Institute on Aging . The National Bureau of Health Promotion in Taiwan and the Michigan Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center ( P60-AG08808 ) provided additional support.
PY - 2010/9/1
Y1 - 2010/9/1
N2 - Current findings on gender and age differences in health trajectories in later life are equivocal and largely based upon data derived from Western developed nations. This study examines gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older adults in Taiwan, a non-Western newly industrialized society. Data came from a sample of some 3500 Taiwanese aged 60 and over, initially surveyed in 1989 and subsequently followed in 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2003. Hierarchical linear models with time-varying covariates were employed in depicting the dynamics of functional status across gender and age. Women and the old-old experienced higher levels of disability and rates of increase than their male and young-old counterparts. Moreover, older women bore a disproportionately larger burden of disability. There are therefore significant gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older Taiwanese. These findings provide evidence for the generalizability of prior observations to a non-Western society.
AB - Current findings on gender and age differences in health trajectories in later life are equivocal and largely based upon data derived from Western developed nations. This study examines gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older adults in Taiwan, a non-Western newly industrialized society. Data came from a sample of some 3500 Taiwanese aged 60 and over, initially surveyed in 1989 and subsequently followed in 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2003. Hierarchical linear models with time-varying covariates were employed in depicting the dynamics of functional status across gender and age. Women and the old-old experienced higher levels of disability and rates of increase than their male and young-old counterparts. Moreover, older women bore a disproportionately larger burden of disability. There are therefore significant gender and age variations in the trajectory of functional status among older Taiwanese. These findings provide evidence for the generalizability of prior observations to a non-Western society.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.05.007
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.05.007
M3 - Article
C2 - 20667642
AN - SCOPUS:77955576606
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 71
SP - 1208
EP - 1217
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
IS - 6
ER -